Astros To Sign Jose Veras

The Astros have agreed to sign right-hander Jose Veras to a minor league deal, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Veras will report to Kissimmee, Florida to gear up before heading to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Veras, 33, was designated for assignment by the Cubs earlier this month and subsequently released. The veteran was signed to serve as Chicago’s closer after the Tigers declined to pick up his club option, but things did not work out as planned.

The Cubs gave Veras a $4MM guarantee (between this year’s salary and a $150K buyout for a 2015 club option at $5.5MM) and in return he gave the club a 8.10 ERA across 13 1/3 innings with 8.8 K/9 against 7.4 BB/9 and missed 17 games with an oblique strain.

The deal brings Veras back to where he did some of the best work in his career. In 42 outings in 2013, Veras posted a 2.93 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 as the team’s closer.